MONDAY will see the launch of our new kerbside recycling service.

It’s been months in the planning and implementation, and our teams have just completed the mammoth task of delivering around 120,000 boxes and bags to our residents ahead of the new service that will allow residents to recycle five items – plastic, paper, glass, card and metal – from their doorstep every fortnight.

And if the response to our recycling roadshows is anything to go by, there’s real enthusiasm for the new service.

We’ve held two events in Millom and we were inundated with comments and questions from the public, which really bodes well for a high recycling take-up in the town and surrounding areas.

We also had a great turn-out from those coming to collect their lids and covers from the Pensioners Hall last week. Don’t worry if you weren’t able to collect your lids last week, they’ll be available from our office in St George’s Road from Monday.

There have been a few questions to emerge in relation to the service and I’d like to take the opportunity to answer some of them.

Some have asked why we’ve opted for a multi-container system rather than a one-bin-for-all system used by some other councils.

It is important that the scheme is financially viable and not a burden on the taxpayer. To do this we need to collect the materials separately because sorted (and therefore cleaner) materials fetch the best price.

Councils who run the one-bin system generally run it at a loss because it affects the quality of materials, and the cost of sorting more than offsets the income. Many are now looking into multi-container systems.

A number have also asked why we didn’t deliver lids and covers with the boxes. It would have cost more than £100,000 to deliver three lids or covers to every household. The majority will not require lids or covers – if they plan to store or stack their boxes inside for example – so many would have gone to waste if we had issued them to everyone.

We also offer a choice of hard lids and soft covers, and the roadshows are showing us that residents’ requirements differ drastically. Some want only hard lids, some want only soft, and others want a mixture, so by offering them free for collection from events and from our office from Monday, we have given people this choice – and people have been happy to attend the events to collect their lids and covers and have questions answered about the scheme.

We appreciate that the new system won’t work for absolutely everyone – with more than 33,000 homes it’s impossible to find one that will – but we’re flexible and will work with residents to help them recycle as much as possible.

If you have any queries, visit our website at www.copeland.gov.uk where there’s a page dedicated to the recycling service, visit our Millom office or call 01946 598300.